I had previous asked a question of how early to start a port shoulder for a 6pm dinner. It was 8 pounds before trim, and I decided to start it at 10:30pm the night before and Cambrio it if it came out early. Well, very glad I started the night before as it took 19 1/2 hours and I pulled it off right before pulling and serving.
I used a Smoking' Tex 1400 Electric Smoker with a wall mounted temp sensor (recently tested in boiling water) and Auber PID controller. Since I was starting so early, I set it to 225° and left it alone for the many hours at the start. Here's the temp profile for the first 12 hours...
Wasn't that concerned with it, but it was only at 182° by 2:30pm. I turned up the Auber to 240°, but at 4pm, the meat was still only 190°. So much for a few hours of faux cambro!
I then cranked it up to 300° (it takes a while for an electric smoker to change temp, especially one that is only supposed to work to 250°, but I modded to go higher) and the shoulder reached 201° at 6:05pm. Took it off, pulled it immediately, and we ate. Flavor was great, but just a tad on the dry side, not sure if this was because I didn't hold it at all or it cooked too slow and long.
However, it was a big hit with the family and guests. Here it is (nice bark using MMD, but with hot paprika instead of sweet) and my "Alabama Baked Beans" recipe (which are simply the best beans I have ever had- I think I got the recipe out of an old Weber Grilling cookbook- bacon, brown sugar, onions, green peppers- let me know if you want the recipe). Also made homemade toffee pudding cake and cornbread. Paired with Oskar Blues Pinner IPA and some great friends, and the evening was a success.
Why did this take some long? I am thinking the location of my ambient probe (on the rear wall) might have been hotter than where the meat was since I had a drip pan underneath the shoulder and the heat would go around it, up the back where the probe was, or front. I will use an ambient probe on the grate next to meat next time to test this.
I also believe (but unproven) that an electric smoker just takes longer than other types of smoking due to lack of any air flow. I experienced this on my old Bradley as well as I would have to go much longer than what is typically expected. I have started the process of researching pellet grills, but will probably be a while!
-CowboyScott
I used a Smoking' Tex 1400 Electric Smoker with a wall mounted temp sensor (recently tested in boiling water) and Auber PID controller. Since I was starting so early, I set it to 225° and left it alone for the many hours at the start. Here's the temp profile for the first 12 hours...
| Time | Cooker Target Temp | Cooker Actual Temp | Meat Temp |
| 10:30 PM | 225° | 154° (when meat went in) | 34° |
| 11:00 PM | 225° | 211° | 34° |
| 11:10 PM | 225° | 225° | 34° |
| 7:00 AM | 225° | 225° | 156° |
| 9:15 AM | 225° | 225° | 159° |
| 10:30 AM | 225° | 225° | 163° |
| 11:30 AM | 225° | 225° | 165° |
Wasn't that concerned with it, but it was only at 182° by 2:30pm. I turned up the Auber to 240°, but at 4pm, the meat was still only 190°. So much for a few hours of faux cambro!
I then cranked it up to 300° (it takes a while for an electric smoker to change temp, especially one that is only supposed to work to 250°, but I modded to go higher) and the shoulder reached 201° at 6:05pm. Took it off, pulled it immediately, and we ate. Flavor was great, but just a tad on the dry side, not sure if this was because I didn't hold it at all or it cooked too slow and long.
However, it was a big hit with the family and guests. Here it is (nice bark using MMD, but with hot paprika instead of sweet) and my "Alabama Baked Beans" recipe (which are simply the best beans I have ever had- I think I got the recipe out of an old Weber Grilling cookbook- bacon, brown sugar, onions, green peppers- let me know if you want the recipe). Also made homemade toffee pudding cake and cornbread. Paired with Oskar Blues Pinner IPA and some great friends, and the evening was a success.
Why did this take some long? I am thinking the location of my ambient probe (on the rear wall) might have been hotter than where the meat was since I had a drip pan underneath the shoulder and the heat would go around it, up the back where the probe was, or front. I will use an ambient probe on the grate next to meat next time to test this.
I also believe (but unproven) that an electric smoker just takes longer than other types of smoking due to lack of any air flow. I experienced this on my old Bradley as well as I would have to go much longer than what is typically expected. I have started the process of researching pellet grills, but will probably be a while!
-CowboyScott
Comment